Smartphone addiction is problem, young people agree

To coincide with Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, the Luxembourg government’s national youth service has released its fourth report on youth connectivity, tracking changing online risks and attitudes, and revealing that many youngsters believe their own smartphone addiction is worrying.

The BEE Secure Radar report is based on surveys of children, young people, parents, teachers and other education staff. It was carried out during the 2023-24 academic year.

Almost all respondents in all age groups were familiar with smartphones and how to use them. Some 50-70% of children and young people surveyed say they check their phones multiple times per hour and find it difficult to set limits.

Most popular apps

Among the 14,000 8- to 18-year-olds surveyed, Snapchat, WhatsApp and Instagram were the most popular apps. This was unchanged compared to the previous year for secondary level students, while Instagram replaced TikTok in the top three for primary students since 2022-23.

Excessive smartphone use remained the biggest concern of parents and teachers between years, with 90% of teachers saying students use their phones too much. 79% of the 17- to 30-year-old participants agreed – as did 54% of 12- to 16-year-olds.

Safety concerns

It is not only the act of staring at screens that concerns participants, but also what is shown on them: parents, teachers and young adults aged 17 to 30 expressed concerns about misinformation, age-inappropriate content, data protection, influencers and cyberbullying. Among 12- to 16-year-olds, cyberbullying and sexual content were the most frequently cited concerns. Most adults agree that adult materials online should be subject to age verification, while 69% of under-18s also agreed.

BEE Secure operates a helpline for people affected by online safety concerns and handled 72 calls from children and young people during the year. The two most common concerns they had were sextortion (blackmail with nude photos) and cybercrime (including fraud, hacking and phishing).

For the first time, the BEE Secure Radar survey addressed artificial intelligence (AI), finding that young people echo the wider world in seeing AI variously as an opportunity, a danger or both. Respondents tended to be more favourable towards AI as a personal tool and more worried about its effect on wider society.